Boot-leg



(No Model.)-

.J. H. HOWARD.

' Boot Leg Patented April 19,1881.

. UNITED STATES PATENT Orifice.

JAMES H. HOWARD, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT-LEG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,417, dated April 19, 1881. Application filed March 12, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. HOWARD, of Medford, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Boot-Legs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a shield or guard to prevent water or snow form entering the tops of rubber boots; and the invention consists in providing the boot with a flexible extension attached to the upper extremity of the boot-leg and adapted to be drawn up and confined in position around the leg of the wearer, and thus prevent water or snow from entering the top of the boot.

It is well known that in rain or snow storms the ordinary rubber or leather boot Worn outside the pants forms a very insufficient protection against the wet, inasmuch as rainwater or snow beating against the leg of the wearer trickles down within the boot, and, settling in the bottom thereof, is not only uncomfortable, but renders the wearer exceedingly liable to take cold. Children, especially in wading in snow or slush, in lying on sleds while coasting, or falling into deep snow or water, are very liable to have the snow or water enter the tops of their boots when made in the ordinary manner, the wide open top acting as a scoop to collect said snow or water. This is a cause of annoyance to the wearer, and it is necessary to dry the boots before they can be worn again.

To overcome these objections to the use of the ordinary boot, I make use of the device 1 will now proceed to describe and claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents an elevation of a bootleg provided with an extension forming a shield or guard embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a transverse section, the guard being turned down within the boot. Fig. 3 represents a similar section, the guard being drawn up out of the boot. Figs. 4 and 5 represent modifications.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the. drawings, b represents a boot-leg having attached to the top thereof an extension, a, formed of rubber, water-proof cloth, the material known as gossamer waterproof, or other suitable flexible water-proof material. The extension 0. is stitched, cemented, or otherwise suitably attached to the top of the boot-leg, either on the outer surface of said leg, between the lining and the outer material of the leg, or, as shown in this particular instance, on the inner surface of the leg, and is adapted to hang down on the inside of the boot, as shown in Fig. 2, when not in use or when the boot is off the foot, and to be drawn up out of the boot and around the leg, forming a shield or guard, as hereinafter described.

The upper part of the guard at is adapted to be gathered in, or contracted to a less interiordiameter than that of the upper part of the boot-leg, by means of a puckering-strin g run through the perforations 0, formed in the material of which the guard is composed, (shown in Fig. 1,) orinclosed within a hem or fold, 6, formed at the upper edge of the guard, as shown in Fig. 3. This puckering-string may be tied around the leg, thus confining the guard at in position.

Instead of a puckering-string a rubber band or cord may be employed confined within the hem or fold c, as shown in the modification Fig. 4, to enable the guard a to be distended or enlarged at the top when it is drawn over the leg, and also to cause the guard to hug the leg when in use; or an elastic gore, 9, may be inserted in the side of the guard, as shown in the modification Fig. 5, said gore accomplishing the same object as the rubber band or puckering-string, above described.

In operation, the guard at being turned down within the boot-leg, as shown in Fig. 2, the boot is drawn on outside the pants, or, in case of children, outside the stocking. The guard is then drawn up out of the boot and over the knee of the wearer, being confined in position and made to tightly hug the leg of the wearer by means of the puckering-string or elastic band or gore, as before described, thus effectually preventing the entrance of water or snow into the boot and maintaining the interior thereof in a perfectly dry condition at all times. The flexible material of which the guard a, is composed allows it to accommodate itself to the shape of the leg and permits perfect freedom of movement on the part of the wearer.

I do not limit my invention to rubber boots, as it is obviously of equal application to those of leather.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is-- 1. The improved boot herein described, having a flexible extension or guard attached to the upper extremity of the boot-leg, adapted to be turned down within the boot when not in use, and to be drawn up out of the boot and contracted around the leg of the wearer and confined in said position, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of the boot-leg and the flexible guard at, attached thereto, adapted to be turned down within the boot and to be drawn up and contracted around the leg of 20 subscribing witnesses, this 10th day of March, 2 5

J AS. H. HOWARD.

Witnesses:

0. R. HOWARD, GEo. R. R. RIVERS. 

